Sonic: The Age of Steam

[Doctor MK]

Get a load of this! Sonic Relief 2011 may not be kicking off until January, but - Blue Noses aside - there's a whole new way to get involved prior to the campaign-proper!

2011 is going to be a big year not only for Sonic, but for Sonic Relief too. So, what better time than now to get to work on what is undoubtedly my most ambitious project to date!

So what is it? Well, it's a rather novel idea, if I do say so myself. Ahem.

Sonic: The Age of Steam is going to be a fan-fic mini-novel-of-sorts written especially to aid the Sonic Relief 2011 campaign. Don't worry, it's not going to be THAT kind of fan-fic. Instead, it's all about Sonic waking up in a steampunk-esque world and, in true Sherlock Holmes style, he must get to the bottom of the mystery of why he is there. Steampunk Sonic then, basically (which was in fact this project's working title - alongisde "Choo-Choo Rocket!", for a laugh). It's a whole new take on the meaning of "Sonic Storybook".

Disclaimer: Idea not inspired by Mad Gear Zone

The story is being written by yours truly with as much care as possible, stuffed with references to Sonic lore past and present. I'm rather proud of what I've done so far. But if I'm solely writing it, how do you get involved? Well, in The Age of Steam, a certain Ivo Robotnik is leading an industrial revolution thanks to his mechanical contraptions - many of which are steampunk versions of classic badniks. I'll introduce you to one right now:

Please excuse my poor art skills, but you get the idea. Instead of a tyre-like wheel, this Motobug uses a wheel not unlike one you might find on a Victorian carriage or a steam train. It's also made of brass, but you can't really tell that from this black and white doodle. Oh and it has steam spewing from its attenae. Sweet.

Basically, what I want to ask of you guys is to design your own steampunk-flavoured badniks, be they classic or entirely new. There's going to be a chapter of the story where Sonic encounters a lot of these guys, so some inspiration from you would be much appreciated! Who knows, you could see your creation take centre stage against our favourite hedgehog! Think of it like the Sonic 4 contest where SEGA asked people to draw their own badnik concept art - only except this time without any delicious Sonic 4 details as a reward.

With regards to incentive though, I'll personally donate an as-yet-unspecified amount to Sonic Relief 2011 when the campaign kicks off for every entry received. So that's more than enough reason to get drawing!

Entries should either be e-mailed to us at sonicreliefuk@hotmail.co.uk, posted in the Sonic Relief DeviantArt group (which needs some much needed love!) or posted in this here topic. The DeviantArt group is run by Chao-raising Silva Rymes, who also designed the Age of Steam logo for me. He's a cool guy!

Oh, and I'm also going to need someone to help design a 'front cover'... get in touch if you fancy your hand at this, so I can give you some more details and whatnot to help you out! To start you off though, here's another badly drawn doodle, this time of Sonic himself...

He will be sporting his modern green eyes in the actual story though. Baaaaaaaaaaaw.

So, that's that! I hope you can get involved with The Age of Steam and I hope you look forward to reading it too! It'll be made available to read online during the course of the 2011 campaign, entirely for free - in a similar vein to Gavvie's Songs For Sonic album from last year, it is hoped that it will instead encourage donations, so you choose how much you think it is worth!

There will be more on The Age of Steam down the line. Choo choo!

Official blog: http://sonictheageofsteam.blogspot.com/

Think of this as a "warm-up" to the Sonic Relief 2011 campaign. It will be a good chance to get your creative juices flowing and give us a little bit of a test run prior to kicking things off properly!

Obviously this writing business is going to be quite a task on my part. so I do hope at least some of you support this project! The "front cover" (which obviously won't ever be put on a front cover because this is an online-only fan-fic) is something I'd quite like to see, if nothing else.

So yes! Get creating!

Edited July 22, 2011 by Doctor MK

[Meemz]

Steampunk badniks? Time to start drawing. >:l

[Saint Nathan]

Ooh, are sprites allowed?

I can't scan any drawings, but I can make sprites easily and quickly. I can't do much in the way of donations, but I can do this with sprites.

Actually, I'll just make some. If they're cool with you that's a plus, but this seems like something I want to do for the hell of it.

[Doctor MK]

Ooh, are sprites allowed?

I can't scan any drawings, but I can make sprites easily and quickly. I can't do much in the way of donations, but I can do this with sprites.

Actually, I'll just make some. If they're cool with you that's a plus, but this seems like something I want to do for the hell of it.

Yes, sprites are a-okay! Any art style whatsoever will be accepted

And you don't have to worry about donations, that's my job. Until Sonic Relief 2011 kicks off properly, anyway.

[Saint Nathan]

Alright, One last question. Post in this topic? Or the Sonic Relief topic?

EDIT: Okay I lied, by entirely new, do you mean like, stuff that's in the new games, or stuff that we make all on our own?

Edited October 24, 2010 by Galaxy Man

[Doctor MK]

Alright, One last question. Post in this topic? Or the Sonic Relief topic?

Ultimately it won't make much difference, but post it here I guess. Keeps all the Age of Steam stuff together that way. The Sonic Relief topic is acting more like an archive for announcements than anything else at the moment.

EDIT: By "new" I mean anything your imagination can think up, as long as it fits in with the theme of a steampunk badnik/Eggman creation.

Edited October 24, 2010 by Doctor MK

[Saint Nathan]

Alrighty then.

Here's what I have so far.

Okay yeah you already did the Motobug but look at it, so cute.

Orbinaut was a little difficult, but I replaced the spikes with gears, and he's pretty much an empty steel shell with a propeller.

This rhino guy is pretty obvious, no huge engine in the back, just a huge gear. His wheel is also just a brass disk, like the motobug wheel, but thin and without spokes.

Little bomb dude! He's made of rock/coal now, and he has joins on his legs. Also cartoony bomb style wick made of regular string.

This guy is a little too much like Steembug for my liking, but past that he's mostly brass and steel, but his wings are wax paper.

Okay I am seriously proud of Steambat here. His wings are steel and brass frame, with wax paper. His body is steel and brass, but his eyes are green lights. He also has a gas lamp instead of an electric one. He's got gears sticking out for god knows what reason but steampunk seems to be just gears everywhere so what do I know.

I'll see what I can do in the originality department.

[Meemz]

Caterkiller!

I might make a couple more of these, if my schedule isn't too busy. Hope you like it.

[Badnik Zero]

I love the idea of this, if only I could scan stuff I make. Mimi's Caterkiller is perfect! First you notice the antennae and goggle eyes. Then those exhaust chimney things. And the gear on the middle segment is nicely placed. Crazy cool design, Mimi. Are you looking for boss robots, MK?

[YoshiUnity]

Hmm... I'm interest in whipping something up for this! Is there a deadline? Because I'm a little busy atm.

[Doctor MK]

Are you looking for boss robots, MK?

It's more likely that smaller robots will feature in the actual story, but anything is acceptable for the sake of raising more donations Who knows, maybe if the boss robot design is good enough I could work it in somewhere!

Loving the entries so far. Seriously great stuff!

@YoshiUnity: No deadline, for now at least - I'll likely leave this open until Sonic Relief 2011 actually starts, as I'll want to focus on that then obviously.

Edited October 28, 2010 by Doctor MK

[Swiss]

I forgot to ask, will this be an illustrated piece, or a solely written one?

Just wondering is all.

[Doctor MK]

I forgot to ask, will this be an illustrated piece, or a solely written one?

Just wondering is all.

Edited October 28, 2010 by Doctor MK

[Doctor MK]

Just a small update:

Please DO NOT send any further entries to the Sonic Relief e-mail address or to any other location aside from here. Please keep all entries confined to this one topic.

The reasoning behind this will likely become clear soon enough.

Edited October 31, 2010 by Doctor MK

[JezMM]

Just a small update:

Please DO NOT send any further entries to the Sonic Relief e-mail address or to any other location aside from here. Please keep all entries confined to this one topic.

The reasoning behind this will likely become clear soon enough.

[Doctor MK]

Does this include personal deviantART accounts (though not the Sonic Relief group obviously)?

[JezMM]

Presenting Professor Eggman's fantabulous new invention, the Mechanical Autohedgehog, for all your home blue rodent obliteration needs.

I'm sure someone else can come up with a far more inspiring design than mine but still pretty pleased with this. Considering Metal Sonic's eyes are just images on a screen in the games, took me a while to come up with simply showing the furnace inside his head powering him instead.

Edited November 17, 2010 by JezMM

[Doctor MK]

I'm sure someone else can come up with a far more inspiring design than mine but still pretty pleased with this. Considering Metal Sonic's eyes are just images on a screen in the games, took me a while to come up with simply showing the furnace inside his head powering him instead.

Wow, awesome stuff there JezMM! Simply amazing.

And without trying to give too much away, that design is going to come in very handy for the story...

[Abominal SnowTaz]

This project seems interesting....Is there anything I can do to help because it looks like a lot of people have already done many things..

[Mauro Fonseca]

I still have somewhere on a sketchbook a sketch to give you of a Sonic Adventure-esque Sonic drinking tea. I've really gotta find my college's scanner

[Doctor MK]

This project seems interesting....Is there anything I can do to help because it looks like a lot of people have already done many things..

[Viku]

Even if I have no idea what Sonic relief is (someone can explain to me?) I decided to help out to this project, as it soudns really interesting.

First I made this Steampunk model of the Eggmobile.For add the hover-type of lfying I added that huge copter udner the machine. also, decided to add the classic chained ball as an extra.

Here's a Steampunk Egg Pawn. I decided to turns it into a mix between a walking furnace and a clockwork doll while still having the classic egg smile on the face.

I hope they are useful to you and you like them.

[Doctor MK]

Even if I have no idea what Sonic relief is (someone can explain to me?) I decided to help out to this project, as it soudns really interesting.

Sonic Relief is a fundraising event that's been held here on The Sonic Stadium for the past couple of years (and for a third and final time in 2011) in which people come up with various Sonic-themed creations to help raise money for a good cause. It's a way of showcasing the community's talents as well as bringing everyone together!

Anyways, awesome drawings you've done there! I particularly like the steampunk Egg Pawn. Very nice!

[Doctor MK]

It's been a little while since I've updated y'all about anything on this and the next week or so I'm going to be busy with uni assignments (joy of joys!), so here's an early Christmas present to say thank you for all your support so far!

First up is the opening line of the story, just to whet your appetites:

Sonic's face was planted firmly into the ground.

Make of that what you will!

And also, in the style of AAUK's "Seven Facts about Sonic Colours" blog posts (or whatever they were called), here's my very own set of teasers for The Age of Steam...

1. It’s a storybook adventure. Or is it?

2. Some of the references might go ‘ova’ certain people’s heads.

3. He’s got a wrench!

4. One of the most iconic objects in Sonic history makes its glorious, well overdue return.

5. Old foes with new appearances await those who dare enter the Citadel.

6. Hedgehog versus Machine – who will emerge triumphant?

7. All is not quite as it seems.

Feel free to speculate, or simply just wait to find out what on earth I'm blabbering on about!

Chapter 1 should be released fairly soon into the New Year and the rest will follow as and when I'm happy with it... it's either going to be 6 or 7 chapters in total, still debating whether to cut a certain chapter as it's not too essential to the plot and the time I have to write this thing is getting less and less by the day. We shall see.

But yeah, basically I just want to say a massive thanks to everyone who has submitted artwork or even so much as told me they're interested in this project - it makes it all worthwhile and I hope I can come up with something you're all going to enjoy!

[Saint Nathan]

1. It’s a storybook adventure. Or is it?

2. Some of the references might go ‘ova’ certain people’s heads.

3. He’s got a wrench!

4. One of the most iconic objects in Sonic history makes its glorious, well overdue return.

5. Old foes with new appearances await those who dare enter the Citadel.

6. Hedgehog versus Machine – who will emerge triumphant?

7. All is not quite as it seems.